Finland Car Hire

Finland Car Hire

Finland is a great place to visit, with its abundance of scenic lakes and beautiful landscapes, and interesting cities full of museums, festivals and diverse architecture.

Finland Car Hire

By using the booking form below, you can get a free car hire quote or book your car directly with any of the leading car hire suppliers in Finland, which include, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, Firefly, Hertz, InterRent, Sixt and others.

Finnish Arts and Architecture

Helsinki, the capital of Finland, is a city that is very vibrant and stylish, with many things to do. There are lots of impressive buildings to see in Helsinki with lots of grand Neoclassical and Art Nouveau architecture. The Esplanadi is an attractive street where you can take a tram ride and visit the City Museum, or you can go to Market Square at the South Harbour and enjoy the many local foods and crafts there. In Senate Square you can see impressive buildings such as the Cathedral and the Government Palace along with other elegant buildings, and the Square also hosts many concerts and exhibitions. The National Museum in Helsinki houses collections dating back to prehistory, including medieval art and ethnographic artefacts, and The Ateneum Art Museum has Finland’s biggest art collection with works dating from the mid-18th century to the mid-20th century.

Suomenlinna is the world’s biggest sea fortress built over several attached islands off Helsinki, which you can visit by ferry and have a guided tour. You can look around the museum there and enjoy the views of Helsinki while eating in one of the restaurants or cafes at the fortress.

For a family day out you could visit Helsinki Zoo with its many fascinating animals that live there, or you could visit Linnanmaki Amusement Park which has many different rides to enjoy, arcades and outside stage entertainment.

Design District in Helsinki is an interesting area full of artistic enterprises for people to enjoy, where you can walk around the streets and see the fashion shops, antique shops, art galleries and jewellery designers, among many others, together with the Design Museum. You can have a guided tour around the area and learn about the various design businesses there.

Turku, in south west Finland, is a city with a great mixture of old and new, as it is full of history and also a lively contemporary city. Turku Castle was built in the 13th century and is a popular place to visit. You can explore the splendid banqueting halls and dungeons and see regular exhibitions held there. There are lots of museums to visit in Turku, including Aboa Vetus and Ars Nova, which is an interesting combined museum, with Aboa Vetus showing Turku’s history and in Ars Nova you can see modern art collections.

By the Aura River there are lots of little cobbled streets and there is a lively atmosphere in the area with many places to eat. There are also boat trips you can take to visit the archipelago or eat in one of the many boat restaurants along the river. Turku has many festivals and and events including a Medieval Market every summer, and various music festivals including latin American and rock. The city has a fun and lively nightlife and there are many cinemas and theatres to visit, along with lots of different cafes and restaurants to suit every taste. Jukupark provides a great day out for all the family with its many different water slides and pools.

The Finnish Landscape

The Lake Region in Finland is a vast area with many scenic lakes, rivers and inlets as well as islands and bays. There are lovely forests of pine, birch and spruce together with rolling hills and ridges. The lakes are clean and clear and you can travel along the waters by boats of different kinds including steamboats.

You can also kayak, canoe or swim in the lakes and rivers or go fishing. During the winter the lakes freeze up and you can ice skate on them and go snowmobiling or skiing in the region.

You can visit the town of Savonlinna in the region with its beautiful surrounding countryside and beaches, and also see the 15th century medieval Olavinlinna Castle on an island by Pihlajavesi. There are many National Parks in the Lake Region such as the Hiidenportti National Park, where you can see the dramatic rock faces in the Hiidenportti Gorge and explore the lakes and woodlands and see moose, bears, wolves and lynxes among other animals. You could visit the Isojarvi National Park where you can see lots of islands, rugged shores and woods and see beavers and many birds. You can hike or bike along the many trails or swim or canoe in the waters. Another National Park in the region is Leivonmaki where you can explore the diverse area and enjoy the views from Joutsniemi Ridge and swim, bike, walk or fish in the area. In the Koli National Park you can enjoy the stunning views across the landscape from Koli Hill.

Finnish Cuisine

Commonly eaten foods in Finland include meat, especially pork and beef, and fish such as herring and salmon. Fish can be boiled, fried, smoked or raw. Oats and rye are used a lot in Finnish food and berries, including lingonberries and raspberries, are very popular. Favourite dishes eaten in Finland include lihapullat which are meatballs that can be served with gravy, kaalikaaryleet which are cabbage rolls, palvikinkku which is ham that has been smoked.

Karelian pasties are enjoyed in Finland, being rice inside rye pastry and covered with butter and egg. Sausages are very popular and include mustamakkara which is a blood sausage often served with lingonberry jam. Mushrooms are eaten commonly in Finland, including chanterelles and russulas, and are eaten in many dishes such as pies, sauces and soups. Favourite soups include a pea soup called hernekeitto which is often eaten with pancake, and lohikeitto is made with salmon. Popular breads include ruisleipa which is rye bread and rieska which are flat breads. Finnish bread can also be made with oats, barley and wheat. Pulla is a sweet bread flavoured with cardamom and korvapuustit is a pulla bread flavoured with cinnamon.

Favourite desserts in Finland include vispipuuro which is a sweet porridge with berries, milk and sugar, and bilberry pie which is often eaten with cream. Coffee and sour milk are very popular drinks in Finland, and alcoholic drinks include beer such as Koff, sahti which is flavoured with junipers and koskenkorva which is like vodka.

A trip to Finland can be a great experience, whether you are exploring National Parks in the breathtaking Finnish scenery and boating along the waterways, or enjoying music and arts festivals and the lively culture in the towns and cities.